Building better together
Think open. Think transparent. Think better.
With multiple brands and such a global reach, we’re passionate about being the best we can be and living up to our responsibilities.
We’re embracing change. We’re creating a stronger, more open and transparent boohoo group every day. We’re backing British manufacturing. We’ve strengthened our corporate governance and substantially increased our responsible sourcing, ethical compliance and sustainability teams. We’ve mapped and measured our global supply chain, developed new tech solutions, adapted our processes and invested resource and significant funds to support garment workers. Our actions speak louder than words.
It's safe to say that our Group of today is a stronger, more sustainable and ethical business. But this is just the beginning of our ambition. Our history is still in the making and we look to the future and the positive impact we can make.
Making the right impact
We’re focused on creating a stronger, more transparent Group. We’re all about affecting sustainable change in all we do.
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
50% of our senior leadership is now female, and we have just appointed our first female non-exec Director, Kirsty Britz. Our median pay gap has improved from 0.0% to a hugely impressive -4.1% for the Group. This demonstrates our continued drive to lead equality through fair opportunity and pay.
Reducing Our Environmental Impact
We’re a signatory to Textiles 2030, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap, AGM PPP and the Microfibre Consortium, amongst many others.
Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion
The boohoo culture celebrates diversity in all its forms. It’s important that our team reflects the diversity of the people we serve across the globe. Recruiting people from different backgrounds and with different points of view makes us a stronger business.
Celebrating Individuality
We have always championed individuality and difference, which is why we actively promote and celebrate ‘normal bodies’. Our brands offer a broad range of sizes, often size 6-26 as standard. We don’t retouch images unless asked to do so by the model.
Forming a Climate Change Steering Group
We’ve recently created a brand-new climate change steering group made up of a range of colleagues who will drive this agenda forward. They’ll report into the Executive Risk Group.
How We Work
We’re leaders, not followers, which is why we haven’t hesitated to adapt our processes and showcase our internal expertise.
Strengthening our Internal Purchasing Practices
We’ve developed a brand-new set of Responsible Purchasing Practices for everyone who has responsibility for product. This includes committing to a fair price for garments, working with ethically compliant suppliers, clear and frequent communication, closer strategic partnerships, caring about environmental impact, offering more sustainable products, and improving training and knowledge.
Strengthening our Internal Teams
Andrew Reaney, our Director of Responsible Sourcing, Wholesale and Product Operations, now leads a large team of experts in the fields of sourcing, sustainability, ethical trading, compliance, quality assurance and beyond. We also have world-class international auditors helping to support our work.
Building a World-Class Supply Chain
Unlike other retailers, we recognise that walking away from hard-working British garment manufacturers would cost thousands of jobs and affect many people’s lives.
Working with Approved Suppliers
We only work with approved suppliers who share our values - around 50 suppliers in Leicester, with more across the globe. All our UK manufacturers are now moving to the FAST FORWARD model - the highest standard of ethical auditing in this country.
Our Global Factory List
Transparency means sharing our global list of factories and updating it at least every 12 months. We work with around 1,100 suppliers across the globe, who are supported by our in-country compliance teams in Turkey, China and Italy, with new teams coming to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Taking Advantage of Tech
Our Tech team have developed new technology solutions to support the product teams, such as a buying app and buying portal, which prevent orders from being placed with unapproved suppliers.
Supporting Garment Workers
As a Group, we’ve established a wholly independent Trust which will drive meaningful and measurable change in the garment industry. Our very own Cheryl Chung is one of the founding trustees, and we have made a £1.1m donation.
Workers’ Rights & Whistleblowing
Slave Free Alliance have helped us develop training and a new whistleblowing programme. Our Compliance Team worked with Unseen on a programme to protect hotline users, treat them with care, and offer support. The promotion of the hotline is a condition of our code of conduct. We’re also rolling out Modern Day Slavery and Ethical Compliance training across our entire business.
Taking Health & Safety Seriously
We are a signatory of the International Accord for Health and Safety, which is a binding global agreement designed to protect those working in the garment industry.
Reviewing and Updating Conduct and Conditions
Our Legal Team have reviewed and updated Terms and Conditions for suppliers and the supplier Code of Conduct. The Sustainability Team have produced a new modern slavery statement, created our Group environment and product sustainability strategy and produced our first sustainability report highlighting our impressive progress.
Caring for our People, and our Communities
As well as supporting and celebrating our garment workers, we’re prioritising our people and communities, always looking for what more we can do and where we can give back.
Our People
We weave our commitment to our people into the very fabric of our business. They are the most important part of what we do and part of our global boohoo family. Everyone is awarded free shares in the business each year because we truly believe that everyone should benefit from the success that their talent and hard work has helped to create.
Charity Partners & Donations
In 2020, as the country fought to source PPE for front line workers, we were able to provide thousands of PPE items for free to the NHS with the support of our amazing suppliers. We also donated clothing to front line medical staff, tablets for those unable to see their loved ones in person and £1m of computer equipment to schools whose pupils didn’t have computer access.
Meeting the Makers
In September 2021, we opened the doors to our suppliers in Leicester. All were welcome, particularly those who were sceptical about our business. The day featured an access all areas pass and the opportunity for questions. Watch the video here.
Pay, Risk & Management
Our transparency continues into the boardroom and beyond.
Remuneration
We’re committed to making a connection between executive pay and the appropriate handling of ESG-related issues. We have redesigned the Executive Directors’ remuneration policy to align the interests of our executives with stakeholders, including the introduction of performance conditions linked to ESG criteria.
Risk Management
We’re making ongoing improvements to our risk management framework. This includes introducing a new risk management policy, senior executives' training, and risk-focused governance structures. We’ve introduced risk appetite assessment at board level, plus additional resourcing within the internal Audit and Risk Team.
The Executive Risk Group & Risk Committee
The Group has created an Executive Risk Group and Risk Committee to oversee the risk management improvements we’re making. Below this level, we have functional risk groups across the business to identify, assess, monitor and manage risks at a functional level.
Embracing Stronger Corporate Governance
It’s all about broadening skill sets and ensuring balance. So, we’ve made some new appointments and lots of important changes.
Engagement with Stakeholders
The Board recognise that we have a responsibility towards our colleagues, society, the environment and investors; they frequently engage with key stakeholders such as employees, consumers and the wider community to improve our business.
Board Balance
Having a diverse range of skills and experience on our board is vital for our success. We have made a number of new appointments to strengthen the balance on our board. You can read more about them here.
Board Effectiveness
In February 2021, the Board participated in an external performance evaluation to achieve their full potential and operate more effectively.